activity impossible. There are countless local authorities in the country who would be only too glad to concur with the Minister in his prohibition of mixed meelin.gs. They would by no means all be Nationalist-controlled. There are a great many others which would probably not take the trouble to object to a Ministerial suggestion that such meetings should be banned-and without their objection within the speciffed time the Minister's hand is free. Even if a local authority felt strongly on the matter, events on the Rand in recent years have shown the Government to have scant scruple in bringing pressure to bear on municipalities who do not toe the "party line".
The dangers are very real, make no mistake. Government policy remains unchan~ed. ,If it has received a set-back, how long is it for'! The remarks thrown across the floor by NatIOnalist back-benchers show what they think about the matter. They would like to see no mixing between White and non-White on any basis other than the one they approve so heartily- that of a master with his servant. The plans for separate universities go on. The power to interfere with the fundamental right of individuals to associate with whom they please is in the Minister's grasp. The fact that this power is not as extensive as he and his su.pporters would have liked it to be is a small mercy-but no more than that. If he finds thIS power inadequate he will look for more. Vigilance, not a fceling of relief, is the only safeguard against his taking it.
A TURN OF THE SCREW
W
HEN Dr. Verwoerd first hinted last September at his plans to increase direct taxation on Africans we pointed out in Contact the ver strong case which could be made out against any such increase. The passage of time ks done nothing to modify the strength of this case. If anything, it has produced more data to add to its power.Those who know hest are well aware that the origins .of the Alexandra boycott were economic. Time and Mr. Schoeman added a political flavour to it but the fact remains that most Africans in the areas affected by the fare increases felt that they simply could not afford to pay the extra twopence a day for which they were being asked. They preferred to walk, and proceeded to do so for"over three months. As time went on the admission was made by the Chamber of Commerce, and other responsible opinion, that vast numbers of Africans on the Rand were not being paid a living wage. It is of interest that this admission was only made when' the boycott had been continuing for some time. But the facts of the economic position of urban Africans on the Rand had been available for a long time. As long ago as 1954 the Institute of Race Relations carried out an investigation and published fi$ures which showed only too c1earl.y how far African incomes Jagged behind the minimum requIred for a reasonable standard oflivlllg. These findings were fairfi widely publicised. As far as we are aware nobody took any notice of them.
But the last few weeks have brought forth anevenmore damning indictment of the economic position of Africans in Johannesburg than the Race Relations survey. A cost consultant, con- ducting an investigation on behalf of the Johannesburg City Council, has found that the
"absolute barest minimum" for subsistence for an African family in Johannesburg is £21 per month. This is what is needed to subsist, no more. The consultant tells us that "a much higher income is necessary to provide a fair and adequate living". The average total family income for an African family in Johannesburg lies between £10 165. 8d. and £15 3s. 3d. according to statistics compiled by the non-European Affairs Department of the Johannesburg Municipality.
These, as near as can be gauged, are the shocking facts of life-if one can use such a word- for Africans in Johannesburg. Many families earn barely half of what they would need to subsist at the lowest level. Many more fall hopelessly short of earning enough to maintain themselves in health, let alone to enjoy "a fair and adequate living". And what is true of Johannesburg is true to a lesser or greater extent ofthe other large urban centres of the Union.
The yawning gap is everywhere. Employers have known about it for years but have conveniently looked the othcr way.
It is into this horrifying state of affairs that Dr. Verwoerd, the benevolent father of the African people, will once more intrude his smiling presence, distributing blessings to his admiring children. At his suggestion the Minister of Finance will raise the "poll tax" on every African over the age of 18 by 50 per cent. People earning £15 to £20 a month-just on the verge of pulling tfieir familIes out of the slough of mafnutrition- will have to pay more.
Women earning over £15 will start to pay tax for the first time. As the income rises so will the tax rise until the African earns enough to come under the provisions of the ordinary income tax. He will then
pay
that tax on exactly the same basis as any other member of the South African community.There would be no point in repeating all the arguments against "special" taxation for members of a particular group. Suffice it to say that Africans who, if they belonged to any other group, would be regarded as too poor to
pay
any taxes at all, will now have topay
more than they used to. The principle that the rich should be taxed to pay for services for the poor will be flouted-the ~r willpay
for their own services. But these people are not just poor in the ordinary sense of the word. The new taxes will not simply mean a few less cinemas, a little less fun. They will mean that a man who cannot feed his children properly will have to feed them less. They will mean that a man who must watch his children go eold in winter will have to watch them go colder still. They will mean that a man who must take his son from school long before he would really like to, will have to take him away even sooner. These are the blessings which the Government distributes. These are the SCrvlces of which they boast.Tbis is the way in which they dispense their lofty calling of guardianship. Why should they be surprised if we, and the rest of the world, regard them with a somewhat jaundiced eye?
Ugomboloqwane ka Dr. Verwoerd
U
KUSUKELA mdla kuthunyelwa leliphepha kumalun$u kulenyanga edlule isingeniso somthetho okuthiwa iNative Laws Amendment Bill seslphendulwe li:anengana. Abantu abanengi kabakwazi loko.Ekungenisweni kwawo kokuqala sasithi lesingeniso koba icala elinokujeziswa uma kungenziwa umhlangano edolobheni onomAfrika phakathi engavumanga uNgqongqotshe weNdabazabantu. Kayikho inhlangano engabe imiswe ngokomthetho uma ingenziwa enga- vumanga uDr. Verwoerd. noma ngabe ingeyenkonzo yesonto, noma ingeyepolitiki noma kuyimbuthano nje.
Kuthe uma sckwaziswa ngesingeniso esisha abantu abanengi kabhsqaka kakhulu laho abakholwa ukuthi ukuze inhlalakahle kulelizwe ibekhona kufanele izizwe zonke zibunga- zelane. AmaSonto awukhuza awubabaza, n.eBandla leNhlalakahle lauhlaba laulaula ukhosi
khona ePalamende ngomlomo wabakhulumeli balo nakuwo amaphepbandaba. Lokho kwamenza uDr. Verwoerd ukuba acabange kanengi. Wauguqula okokuqala, usebuye futhi wauguqula okwesibili. Uma le kasenako ukubuye aguquke futhi, kusho ukuthi umtbetho usuzoma kanje:
Ngalomthetho awungenisayo uDr. Verwoerd wobe usethole amandla okuqanda umAfrika angayi esontweni elisedolobheni noma elingaphandle kwemdawo ahlala kUyo. uma ehona ukuthi ukuya kwomAfrika khona kosusa uthuli. Kanako noko ukukwenza loko uma uKo-
peletsheni engavumi. Futhi uDr. Verwoerd wotbola amandla okuvumbela umAfrika angayi emblanganweni osedolobheni uma ehona ukutbi kosusa utbuli. Kanti nalapho kofuneka kuqala ezwene noKopeletsheni wakhona. Uma uKopeletsheni engavumi ngeke enza lutho.
Uma evuma woba usethole ilungelo lokumemezela isithintelo somhlangano lowo kwiGazette.
Ngabe kusho ukuthini lokhu malunga neBandla leNhlalakahle? Kusho ukuthi akukho okunokuthintela iBandla leNhlalakahle ukuqhuba umsebenzi walo njengoba liwuqhuba khathilesi kuze kube isikhathi uDr. Verwoerd ayobe esethathe isinyathelo sokuveza isithintelo.
Angasc angenzi IUlho, kanti noma kukhona akwenzayo ngeke kube okuzothatha isikhathi eside. uNgqongqotshe uma ehona kufanele alivimbele leli Bandla leLiberal Party womelwa
kuqala ezwane noKopeletsheni. Uma engenako ukuzwana naye. engeke enza lutho.
Noma kambc uNgqongqotshe enikezwe amandhla angaka, awase ngangoba ebewafuna kusingeniso sokuqala. Amalungu eLiberal Party akufanele ethuke ilokhu. Kuhle ayihambe imihlangano kuze kube seliphumile izwi lika Ngqongqotshe elibatintelayo elobe Iiphume kuGazeti. Loku kusho ukuthi sokwazi kusekude okuzokwehla, bese nathi sizilungiscla okufanele sikwenze.
Okwamanje masiqhubenjalo sibambe imihlangano singenise amalungu amasha. Kasi·
melw~ nje nemr.:la sctfiuswe llesingeniso somthetho. Kuzisnaya sengathi ubulima ukuhonisa ubugwala kathIiesi. This sifanele sihonisc ukuzimisela kwetflU okwangempela. LeliBandla nalo"kho elikumele lidinga wena ukuba ulillbase. Sethembe wena thina.
